Botanical Medicine: How Herbs Represent A Symphony in Harmony Against Cancer
The world of Western conventional medicine is oriented to the ‘magic bullet’ paradigm, where the search for drugs relies on the concept of compounds that bind specifically to a single target and demonstrate a high degree of potency. Recently, though, this approach has broadened, with researchers suggesting that it is non-specific and relatively weak patterns […]
Do Antioxidants Prevent or Accelerate Cancer?
In a recent article published in Medscape, the authors state that antioxidants are not only useless in preventing cancer, but quite possibly promote cancer growth. The target audience for this article is primary care clinicians, oncologists, nurses, and other clinicians who care for patients at risk for cancer, with the purported goal of providing “medical […]
Embracing The Mystery In Herbal Medicine
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein This has always been one of my favorite quotes—for me, it is a beautiful reminder that spirit is always present. I consciously pay attention to the mystery and […]
Enjoy A Healing Bath
I often recommend a healing bath — including steam, vapor baths, and herbal diaphoretic therapy—to my patients as part of their protocol. The Eclectics, as well as other traditional healing systems prior to Eclectic Medicine, utilized a wide range of water therapies for healing in a practice called hydrotherapy. The vapor, or steam bath, constitutes […]
Cancer Is Not One Disease
“All cancers are alike but they are alike in a unique way.”― Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer Last September, I came across an excellent article written by George Lundberg, MD, a board-certified pathologist and former long-time editor of both the Journal of the American Medical Association and Medscape, a […]
Healing vs. Curing: Contrasting Fundamental Aims in Medicine
Conventional modern medicine has long separated itself from traditional healing systems such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and the Eclectic tradition. However, the inadequacies of conventional medicine and the growing interest of people in the wisdom of these ancient healing traditions has created a unique opportunity to rewrite medicine as we currently know it. I […]
Living With The Unknown
I often recommend an inspirational essay to my patients entitled “In The Gray Zone,” written by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. A nationally recognized physician and educator, Dr. Remen is a pioneer in the field of mind/body medicine, and has cared for people with cancer for more than 30 years. What makes her work truly inspiring […]
Herbal Medicine: How Do We Know It Works?
I often lecture in hospitals or to groups schooled in conventional medical thinking. Although they are intrigued by herbal medicine, one of the first questions they ask is, “How do you know that herbs really work?” This is a valid question. It’s not enough to say, “Well, this herbal remedy worked for my grandparents, so […]
The Spirit of True Healing
We live in a progressively fragmented world, and this fragmentation affects every aspect of our lives. Even natural medicine is not immune to the tendency to view cancer and other serious illnesses with a narrow focus, addressing only one type of treatment or concentrating on only one aspect of health (for example, diet, exercise, or […]